Sarah Redshaw, Blue Mountains Greens
There is no doubt that eating less meat and dairy is going to help the environment but achieving this and going further involves complex issues. There are social, cultural and, dare I say it, economic issues to consider.
While big agriculture is endangering our environment and can involve unacceptable treatment of animals, growing plant-based foods using the same sorts of processes would be equally bad if not worse for the environment.
Land use and the degradation of the natural environment is the pressing issue. How we treat animals is also a consideration. Large scale farming using pesticides and fertilisers is a huge problem and as has been pointed out in a recent article by Andrea Burgenerin1.
Simply growing plant-based foods using the same methods is not going to solve any problems. Large scale land clearing continues even in NSW with an increase under thegovernments of the past eight years. This ongoing and unabated destruction is a huge problem whether for grazing land for animals or for growing crops.
Blaming consumers and expecting individuals to carry the burden in their food choices is not the solution either. Sustainable farming practices and market availability of sustainable food have to assist consumers to make choices they can afford. Some are better placed to afford more sustainable and healthier food choices. Others are constrained in their options in the current market context. Scaling back consumption by those who can afford more than they need (which is many of us in the affluent West) would help matters but it won’t help make food production more sustainable on its own. Government reforms are needed to enable more sustainable options that are affordable.
Changes in agricultural regulations, food policy, waste management, education, trade, and health outcomes are essential to support the development of a sustainable, inclusive, and equitable food culture. Therefore, both the market and the state have a responsibility to improve system governance and transparency and thus support a reconnection with producers, places, plants, and animals to allow us to understand the true social and environmental costs of our food choices2.
Holistic approaches breaking down communication barriers between food producers, academics, healthcare providers and the public are needed, accompanied by ‘official dietary guidance and sustainable food labelling to inform consumers, send a clear signal to the food industry and set directions for government-supported food assistance’3. Advocacy at all levels of government for support for sustainable food production is paramount.
Transnational corporations producing over-processed foods designed to make large profits wield enormous power and control in the food system. Governments need to address this prioritisation of large profits over social and environmental considerations in agriculture and redesign and democratise food-choice environments. Regenerative farming practices are urgently required as well as demands from consumers for more sustainable food production practices.
1 Business Day (28 August 2019), businesslive.co.za
2 - 3 Goggins, G., Kennedy, E. H., Herman, A., Crona, B., Jonell, M., Duignan, S., ... Hinrichs, C. (2019). Transforming Society’s Food Choices. One Earth, 1(3), 272-274. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2019.11.003